Volume 23 Issue 9 - June / July / August 2018

into Vivaldi’s music. Lauzer conducts us
through a somewhat sinister composition; as
La Notte implies there is indeed something of
the night about it.
Of course, this pattern of serious Largos
should not be taken as typical, as there is a
lightness and pleasure in the Largo movement
of Lauzer’s choice of another soprano
concerto. This time, too, an Allegro draws on
all the soloist’s expertise – it is breathless for
both performer and listener.
Lauzer absolutely sails through this repertoire,
although we should not forget the
strings and basso continuo. Listen indeed
to the Largo e cantabile of Lauzer’s final
choice for treble recorder. It is as though with
anything Vivaldi composed, no matter how
complex Vivaldi intended it to be, Lauzer
performs it with a passion. He enjoys total
mastery of his recorders. And we are the
highly fortunate listeners.
Michael Schwartz
Kuhlau – Grandes Sonates Opus 71 & 83
Mika Putterman; Erin Helyard
Analekta AN 2 9530 (analekta.com)
!!
Born in
Hamburg and
later based in
Copenhagen,
Friedrich Kuhlau
(1786-1832) was
encountered by
my generation
mainly as a piano
sonatina composer. In his time, however,
he succeeded best with music for the flute.
Montreal-based specialist Mika Putterman
here provides an exemplary demonstration of
the Romantic flute’s beauties, in collaboration
with Australian fortepianist, conductor and
musicologist Erin Helyard. In Kuhlau’s Grand
Sonata for Fortepiano and Flute Obbligato,
Op. 71 in E Minor (1825) and the similarly
named Op. 83, No. 1 in G Major (1827) the
duo also practises tempo modification, i.e.
speeding up or slowing down beyond what
is specified in the score. It takes
time to get used to this, as is
usual with unfamiliar historically
informed performance practices.
I particularly enjoyed the
E-minor sonata for its instrumental
interplay, florid display
and melodic attractiveness.
Putterman plays with pure, nonvibrato
tone that can be sweet
or sad, and is very affecting in
the slow movement’s melody.
Helyard is a confident fortepianist,
though sometimes his
solid chords are over-prominent.
Both are excellent technically
and their ensemble is tight. The
G-major sonata’s middle movement
is a set of variations, where
each player impresses with the
ability to play fast passages with
convincing expressive touches. Of the outer
movements I preferred the first, and must
mention Helyard’s fluent double-thirds here
and elsewhere. Along with specialists, I think
this disc would appeal to those open to new
challenges for performers and listeners alike.
Roger Knox
Beethoven – Works For Flute 1
Kazunori Seo; Patrick Gallois; Mitsuo
Kodama; Asuka Sezaki; Koichi Komine
Naxos 8.573569 (naxos.com)
!!
Japanese flutist
Kazunori Seo takes
centre stage in
this recording of
Beethoven’s windfocused
chamber
music. First up on
the program are
three duos for flute
and bassoon, transcribed by Seo to substitute
a flute for the clarinet originally called for on
the upper part. It’s not certain that these duos
are really Beethoven’s, and they don’t display
the complexity of the other two pieces which
follow them here – but their transparent
simplicity is charming. Seo and bassoonist
Mitsuo Kodama play with grace and attentiveness
here, but are perhaps a little too cautious
in their interpretation. That said, Seo’s sound
on his wooden modern flute is lovely, his use
of vibrato as a decorative choice is exemplary,
and the instrumental blend is top-notch.
Much less reserve can be heard in the Duo
in G Major for two flutes, played by Seo and
Patrick Gallois with strongly shaped phrasing,
dramatic shifts of dynamic range, and expressive
use of articulation and ornament. The
conversation’s saltier and the results are
definitely fun!
The interpretive thoughtfulness continues
with Serenade in D Major for flute, violin and
viola, Op.25, which receives a nuanced and
intrepid performance in its original scoring.
This is a wonderful piece of chamber music
and it’s good to hear it played with such
thewholenote.com/listening
Pardes
Amos Hoffman & Noam Lemish
Pardes offers an inspired blend
of jazz and Jewish folk melodies.
Joyous, uplifting, texturally rich
music, filled with groove, lyrical
melodies and outstanding solos.
Rosewood Café
Margaret Herlehy
Fusion lovers will enjoy the Big
Round Records debut of oboist
Margaret Herlehy in this fresh, new
collection of Latin-inspired jazz.
polish and spirited engagement.
Alison Melville
Schubert – Piano Trios
Trio Vitruvi
Bridge Records 9510 (bridgerecords.com)
!!
Hailing from
Denmark, Trio
Vitruvi had both
their Carnegie Hall
debut performance
and the official
release of their
debut album with
Bridge Records in
April this year. After
winning two chamber music competitions
and several awards in 2014, the ensemble
began touring and found its unique voice in
the process – their playing is polished and
noble, sophisticated, astute and spirited, open
to improvising in the moment yet respectful
of musical traditions. The trio’s name comes
from Roman architect and philosopher
Vitruvius, whose concepts regarding beauty,
structure and proportions the trio adopted
and applied to their understanding of music
and interpretations. Niklas Walentin (violin),
Jacob la Cour (cello) and Alexander McKenzie
(piano) are not only talented but also highly
attuned to Schubert’s music.
Schubert’s final piano trio (D.929) is
rich, monumental, ingenious, surprisingly
intimate at times, a masterpiece of structural
and harmonic genius, and one of my
favourite pieces of music. I cannot help but
note the parallel between the Vitruvian
Triad (as written in De Architectura) and the
trio’s interpretation of Schubert’s music: it
seems that both Vitruvius and Vitruvi aspired
to make their creations solid, useful and
beautiful. Vitruvi takes it one step further –
they infuse Schubert’s music with a sense
of adventure and limitless colours. Here we
are treated to the original, longer version
of the fourth movement, which makes this
recording even more precious. Notturno,
written in the same year, makes
for the lush, lyrical conclusion
of this album.
Ivana Popovic
Wagner – Orchestral music
from Der Ring des Nibelungen
Buffalo Philharmonic
Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta
Naxos 8.573839 (naxos.com)
! ! Apart from having a great
sense of theatre, Wagner was
also a tremendous orchestrator,
much of it self-taught.
He increased the size of the
orchestra, invented new instruments
(e.g. Wagner tuba), and
like Debussy later, created a
new sound, new orchestral
colours, and had definite ideas
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